Party Time

Tue, Jan 16th, 2018

I am always careful to stay clear of politics as the Executive Watch is best when it is apolitical. However, this week I noticed a report that a Gallup poll found that 42% of Americans now identify as independents, up from 39% in 2016, with the balance of 29% identifying as Democrats and 27% as Republicans. Notwithstanding what side of the aisle you reside on, or if you are one of the centrists, few would disagree that our political system is increasingly polarized, and healthy negotiation by both parties with solutions in the center, just doesn’t happen often, if at all.

The statistics, and the frustration of most American’s with the current state of affairs, leads one to speculate that a third party may ultimately emerge and I am not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. It is instructional to revisit George Washington’s farewell address in 1776: “Don’t blow the taxpayers’ cash on tanks, don’t elect the same guy more than twice, and don’t let the nation’s politics devolve into partisan bickering.”

Essentially, Washington was grabbing our fledgling nation by the lapels and screaming, “Don’t create a country that looks exactly like it will in 2018!” Time will tell and we can only hope some enlightened few get elected and steer the ship down the center.